Thanksgiving Thank You Cards: A Simple Lesson in Gratitude

This educational idea is brought to you by Melissa & Doug, written by our Blog Ambassador Allison McDonald. “Everyday play is what childhood should be about.”

Teaching your children about gratitude is not easy, but Thanksgiving is a great time to try. We made these simple thank you cards to thank others for things that we appreciate. Young kids are naturally self-centered, but with simple activities like this one we can expand their perspective and remind teach them how and why to say thank you and have fun doing it.

We did it two ways: one for my toddler and one for my son, who is in kindergarten. My daughter happily finger-stamped a sheet of card stock with multicolored fingerprints. I then drew a turkey, she glued a googly eye on and then I carefully cut the paper into the shape of a turkey. As we were crafting I asked her who she wanted to say thank you to and she listed a few really great people to thank. For 2 I think that’s a great start.

For my kindergartener I was available to help spell if he wanted but I showed him the cards, showed him the stamps, and let him go! I love his funky card but I really loved the time this craft gave us to really talk about saying thanks instead of the ” What do you say . . . ” reminder. We talked about who and what we are grateful for, and then after he was done stamping he wrote his own note on the inside.

For Thanksgiving dinner we will be making one card for each of our guests filled with a personal thank you message from my kids.

How do you teach your kids about gratitude?

Allison McDonald is founder and editor of No Time For Flash Cards. She has been teaching children in various capacities since 1993, so she has done her share of crafts, songs and circle times! Her son’s birth brought her home, and her love of teaching and helping other parents sparked the idea for No Time for Flash Cards. Early-childhood education is her passion . . . her heart belongs to the little guys! Get to know Allie and see her creative kids’ crafts and educational activities on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

I used to make my own Thank You cards as a kid … just on lined paper decorated with markers. I love the idea of the kids making their own Thank You cards. They will them after the holidays to thank their relatives for the gifts they received. The letter stampers are easy and look nice!

Perfect for traveling! We’ve partnered with our friends at Highlights for Children to bring some extra creative fun to your children this summer, with our FREE 10-page Boredom Busters printable activity book for kids! Check it out!